The Top 100 Restaurants Near The Cellar Restaurant
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Rank 2. Kaori Sushi
Sushi
Lanterns crowd the intimate dining counter at Kaori Sushi, tucked into a Fullerton strip mall where the chef's nigiri—golden eye snapper, toro with wasabi, saba layered over shiso—proves the setting irrelevant. The focused menu balances sashimi's clarity with cooked experiments like mara udon and crab risotto, each plate executed with restraint that rewards close attention.
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Rank 3. Fuoco Pizzeria Napoletana
Neapolitan Pizza
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Rank 4. Khan Saab Desi Craft Kitchen
Pakistani Indian
Chef Imran Ali Mookhi wields spices with precision, letting beef sirloin kebabs and Khan biryani sing on a menu that respects carnivores and vegetarians alike. The bright, hip dining room and craft mocktail bar make this South Asian outpost a welcome anomaly on a Mexican-dominated stretch.
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Rank 5. The Ranch
Steakhouse
An urban steakhouse playing cowboy without irony: beef-forward, but anchored by vegetables from their own farm. The prime rib arrives impossibly tender with cast-iron potatoes and horseradish; popovers come with homemade tomato jam. A place built for sharing and for appetites that match its generous portions.
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Rank 7. Albaraka Restaurant
Palestinian Middle Eastern
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #32 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 9. Poppy & Seed
Modern Southern
Inside a greenhouse bar overlooking citrus trees and herbs, Michael and Kwini Reed compose dishes from local farms and waters—shrimp over creamy grits, charred eggplant with steak tartare, Brussels sprouts candied with bacon jam. The setting enforces what the kitchen already knows: restraint and regional sourcing can feel like luxury.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Michael Reed
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 11. Kareem's Falafel
Middle Eastern
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Rank 12. Tacos Los Cholos
Mexican
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Rank 13. Tacos Los Cholos
Mexican
- LAist 2023 · Tacos · Best Bites
- Los Angeles Times 2024 · Filet mignon tacos · The 101 Best Tacos in Los Angeles
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Rank 14. Sababa Falafel Shop
Middle Eastern
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Rank 16. Tiendita
Mexican
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Rank 17. Taco Nazo
Ensenada-Style
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Rank 18. Forn Al Hara
Middle Eastern
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Rank 19. Angel's Tijuana Tacos
Tijuana-Style
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Rank 20. Arturo's Puffy Taco
Tex-Mex
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Rank 21. Amor y Tacos
Mexican
Thomas Ortega brings fine-dining precision to his native Cerritos, where handmade tortillas and house-made salsas meet unexpected flourishes—Coca-Cola glaze on pork belly, Doritos scattered across chilaquiles. His tacos range from crisp beer-battered cod to charred al pastor, each one executing a playful fusion of Mexican tradition and American invention.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times 2024 · Short rib taco · The 101 Best Tacos in Los Angeles
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Rank 23. Ramen & Tsukemen TAO
Noodles
A modest storefront in an open-air mall houses bowls of ramen made with uncommon care. The spicy red miso arrives rich and creamy, noodles snappy beneath the surface; the chicken broth runs lighter but no less purposeful. Twenty seats, no pretense, every visit a reason to return.
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Rank 24. Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen
Regional Mexican
The cooks honor regional Mexican traditions through refined dishes like citrus-kissed achiote pork panuchos, refusing substitutions because they know what they're doing. An open storefront spilling onto Orange's antique-lined street and backlit tequila shelves create an warm, unpretentious setting.
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Rank 25. Haven Craft Kitchen + Bar
Californian New American
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Inside a nondescript mall corridor, Chef Ben and Ayako Sato run an intimate sushi counter where the menu changes nightly by hand. Kanpachi arrives barely kissed with heat and finished with yuzu; firefly squid yields to tender flesh beneath nori and scallion. What matters here is not the setting but the deliberate care—warm service, precise technique, a kitchen that understands restraint.
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Rank 27. PhởHolic
Noodles
At this Westminster pho shop, beef broth simmered with anise achieves an almost meditative sweetness, drawing everyone from grandparents to Gen Z devotees. The kitchen forgoes shortcuts despite gentle prices, sending out massive bowls of uncomplicated, deeply satisfying comfort.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
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Rank 28. Knife Pleat
Contemporary French
Nestled above the fashion boutiques of South Coast Plaza, this third-floor dining room glows with the warmth of an open kitchen and a sheltered patio. Chef Tony Esnault's French foundation—steelhead with fennel, barley risotto with chestnut—yields gracefully to global inflection and composed desserts that taste of clarity.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
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Rank 29. Phở 79
Noodles
Phở 79 has been ladling oxtail-enriched broths since the early eighties, earning its reputation as a Southern California standard. The spartan room with its yellow walls fills nightly, a small price for broth that justifies the wait.
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Rank 30. Eat Joy Food
Taiwanese Chinese
Tucked behind a Rowland Heights shopping center off the Pomona Freeway, this Taiwanese restaurant pairs soft piano and generous spacing with a tome of a menu dense in seafood and delicate consommés. The three-cup chicken and salty fish fried rice arrive glossy from the wok, their flavors precise and unhurried.
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Rank 31. Luyu Dumplings
Chinese
A shopping-center back room where refrigerators hum and knife work echoes—this is dumpling devotion stripped to essentials. Handmade wrappers encase fillings like pork with lotus root or lamb with fennel; chewy noodles gloss with scallion oil. Comfort is nil, but the food speaks with quiet authority.
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Rank 32. CHAAK Kitchen
Yucatán Mexican
Smoke and spice from the Yucatán arrive in Tustin through careful hands and an understanding of the peninsula's layered culinary traditions. Charred habanero salsa clings to crisp corn empanadas; cochinita pibil, marinated in citrus and achiote, yields to a fork beside fresh tortillas. It's cooking that takes its ingredients and history seriously, without performing either.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
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Rank 33. Sushi Yuen
Sushi
Sushi Yuen delivers refined omakase at modest prices, opening each meal with silky shirako and miso black cod that signal the chef's restraint and precision. Seasonal nigiri flows from Japan; a finale of preserved persimmon atop house-made panna cotta lingers.
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Rank 34. Brodard Vietnamese Cuisine
Traditional Vietnamese
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
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Rank 35. Perro Exquisite Taco
Sonoran-Style
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Rank 36. Nep Cafe
Modern Vietnamese
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Viet Nguyen
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
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Rank 37. Ammatoli
Modern Middle Eastern
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Hospitality
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Dima Habibeh
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
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Rank 39. Rajdhani Restaurant
Traditional Indian
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Rank 40. Lola Gaspar
Mexican
Downtown Santa Ana gastropub where Chef Luis Perez's streamlined menu—handmade tortillas, masa-based quekas, churros—reflects a deliberate turn toward quality. Grilled tomato and dried chili salsa tops tacos filled with carnitas and shrimp; vegan mushroom quekas come with confit potatoes and guacamole, cheese optional. The editing is ruthless, the execution isn't.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times 2024 · Citrus marinated chicken taco · The 101 Best Tacos in Los Angeles
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Rank 43. Alta Baja Market
Mexican
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Rank 44. Kato
Taiwanese Chinese
Jonathan Yao's tasting menu at Kato announces itself with conviction: fish maw arrives with crab-shell vinegar and caviar; spice-crusted duck nestles into fluffy bao; pig ears blaze with chili oil. The Row DTLA dining room, all polished concrete and open kitchen, becomes an austere stage for cooking that draws boldly from his Taiwanese roots and refuses restraint.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- 50 Best 2025 · #26 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
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Rank 45. Sea Harbour
Cantonese Chinese
The dim sum arrives from the kitchen rather than a cart, each dumpling and bun steaming with purpose at this Cantonese standby in Rosemead. The preserved salty egg bun breaks open to reveal a molten yolk; the seafood dishes earn their reputation through exacting technique. What might coast on nostalgia instead commands respect through consistent execution.
- Chinese Restaurant Awards 2025 · #6 · Elite 30 Canada
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Tony Ho
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Rank 47. Vaca
Rustic Spanish
Amar Santana's rustic tapas bar in Costa Mesa pairs an extensive Spanish wine list with consistently executed small plates in a quirky dining room where the semi-open kitchen holds court. The bikini sandwich—jamón ibérico, Manchego, truffle oil on grilled bread—and golden croquetas de pollo suggest a place more interested in precision than spectacle.
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Rank 48. Yang’s Kitchen
Asian-American
- Time Out The best Chinese restaurants in America
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Christian Yang
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles Right Now
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Rank 49. Nettuno
Coastal Italian
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In a strip mall in La Puente, Manohar's Delhi Palace serves unhurried Punjabi cooking with a warmth that extends from kitchen to table. The samosas arrive impossibly crisp, the chicken tikka masala glossy and restrained with spice, each plate suggesting a chef thinking more about balance than bombast.
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Rank 51. Nardo
Southern Italian
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Rank 52. Henry's Cuisine
Cantonese Chinese
A modest storefront on Valley Boulevard where homestyle Cantonese cooking persists with quiet confidence, lobster painted silver and gold adorning the walls as a hint at what the kitchen does best. Salted-egg shrimp arrives delicate and bright; the deep-fried pig's feet crackle like chips; mustard greens with garlic offer a soothing counterpoint. This is cooking for people who know what they want.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Time Out #34 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 53. Restaurant Ki
Contemporary Korean
Chef Ki Kim's ten-seat Korean tasting menu hides behind an unmarked entrance in downtown Los Angeles, rewarding the hunt with playful dishes like truffle gimbap and charred snap peas with fish roe. Confident cooking threads global ingredients through refined courses, from barbecued squab to mushroom ice cream.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best New Restaurant
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best New Restaurant
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- LAist 2024 · Smashburger · Best Bites
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #91 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 55. Bistro Na's
Manchu Chinese
Behind a strip-mall facade in Temple City, an expansive dining room in red and gold serves royal Manchu cuisine from the Qing dynasty's imperial kitchens. Signature dishes—shrimp fried whole and crisp, black pepper Angus beef—suggest the place favors opulence over restraint, best tackled with a group.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Los Angeles
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #88 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 56. Evil Cooks
Mexican
- Food & Wine 2025 · McSatan · Best Dishes Our Editors Ate This Year
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Alex Garcia and Elvia Garcia
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Elvia Garcia and Alex Garcia
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Rank 57. Baroo
Modern Korean
At a sleek concrete counter in downtown Los Angeles, Kwang Uh and Mina Park orchestrate a tasting menu that pivots between Korean tradition and precise technique. A seared Hokkaido scallop swims in watercress sauce studded with seaweed jelly; silky black cod arrives in a wide bowl where buttermilk is poured tableside. The meal reads as composed and assured, uninterested in noise.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: California · Kwang Uh
- Eater The All-Time Eater 38
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Kwang Uh
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Rank 58. Marché Moderne
Modern French
The Marneaus' dining room glows with the confidence of a place that knows exactly what it is: a modern kitchen fluent in French tradition, where coq au vin and lobster flambéed in Courvoisier emerge from an open kitchen with the same precision as the house charcuterie sliced on a vintage Berkel. Seasonal cocktails and generous wine pairings bracket meals that feel both familiar and alive.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
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Rank 59. Firstborn
Contemporary Chinese
Anthony Wang remixes Chinese-American tradition with disciplined technique—tender tofu dumplings, aged duck with persimmon—in a bright, open kitchen designed for sharing. Desserts like vanilla sponge with red bean sauce suggest a chef thinking beyond the obvious.
- Esquire 2025 · Bartender of the Year · Kenzo Han
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best New Restaurant
- Punch 2025 · Best New Bartenders · Kenzo Han
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Rank 60. Holbox
Coastal Mexican
Gilbert Cetina works a counter inside Mercado La Paloma with the precision of a jeweler, coaxing impossible brightness from aguachile and ceviche with seafood so fresh it arrives still trembling. His grilled lobster and house-made tortillas, dressed in an arsenal of salsas, suggest that restraint and impeccable sourcing need no fanfare.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- 50 Best 2025 · #42 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Chef · Gilberto Cetina
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Rank 61. Fable & Spirit
Californian
Overlooking Newport Harbor, this bistro marries seaside elegance with unfussy cooking, from inventive vegetable dishes to a showstopping 12-hour Kurobuta porchetta. The room crackles with the energy of diners who come for more than the views.
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Rank 62. Tacos La Carreta
Mexican
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Los Angeles
- Los Angeles Times 2024 · Chorreada mixto · The 101 Best Tacos in Los Angeles
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Rank 63. Sushi Ii
Sushi
A spare coastal room overlooks the highway while the chef moves through kaiseki's ceremonial rhythms: tofu crowned with Bafun uni, belt fish paired with dashi-simmered tomato, nigiri of wild flounder and baby sea bream rendered with surgical precision. Seasonal Japanese imports and local catches arrive meticulously composed, each plate a small argument for restraint and timing.
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Rank 64. Damian
Mexican
A converted warehouse in the Arts District with polished concrete and exposed brick, softened by leather seating and trailing plants. The kitchen reads Mexican tradition through a lens of precision—corn tamales, uni tostadas on blue corn, fish tacos that feel both classic and startling. Industrial bones, refined technique, and a terrace that draws crowds.
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Emerging Chef · Jesus "Chuy" Cervantes
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Time Out #7 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 65. Komal
Mexican
In the Mercado Del Paloma, Chef Fátima Juárez coaxes depth from heirloom corn nixtamalized in-house, each quesadilla and tlacoya a small study in restraint and smoke. The fried plantain in black mole and short-rib tacos demand salsa applied with purpose, not timidity.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Emerging Chef · Fátima Juárez
- Bon Appétit 2025 · America's Best New Restaurants
- Esquire 2025 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 66. Chengdu Taste
Chinese
No temperance here: Chengdu Taste brings uncompromising Sichuan heat, where toothpick lamb arrives cumin-dark and chili-bright, crispy beef stakes its claim as rival, and even shredded potato sings with precision and fire. The kitchen doesn't dial it back, and neither should you.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Time Out #36 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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- Time Out #13 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #75 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 69. Carnitas Uruapan
Mexican
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Rank 71. Terrace by Mix Mix
French/Italian/Filipino
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Rank 72. Tacos Baja
Ensenada-Style
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Rank 73. Pizzeria Bianco
Pizza
Chris Bianco's Los Angeles outpost draws lines through ROW DTLA with a spare menu of impeccable pizzas, each one a small argument for precision over novelty. The margherita alone justifies the wait, though the biancoverde and wiseguy suggest he's thought carefully about what pizza should be.
- Foodist Awards 2025 · Food Pioneer · Chris Bianco
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · Fifty Under $50
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Rank 74. Populaire Modern Bistro
Modern French
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Rank 75. Camphor
French
An open kitchen hums with purposeful energy as Max Boonthanakit sends out French bistro dishes sharpened with unexpected invention—sea bream crudo meets green apple ice, scallop pasta swims in truffle-chive beurre blanc. The steak au poivre arrives classic and assured, its Cognac cream and crisp frites a reminder that reinvention works best when it knows what it's disrupting.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Esquire 2024 · Provence Martini · The Best Martinis in America
- Time Out #18 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 76. Moo's Craft Barbecue
Barbecue
In a handsome Lincoln Heights room outfitted with craft beers, Andrew and Michelle Muñoz smoke briskets to a mahogany crust and stuff sausages with cheddar and jalapeños in the style of Austin pitmasters. The sides—creamed mac and cheese, banana pudding—fill out the plate with the same care applied to the meat. Come early; the best items disappear.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Andrew Muñoz and Michelle Muñoz
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Andrew and Michelle Muñoz
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
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Rank 77. Longo Seafood
Cantonese Noodles
A packed Cantonese noodle parlor in Rosemead where the kitchen moves with quiet efficiency, turning out sugarcane shrimp skewers with crackling exteriors, silken rice noodle rolls studded with char siu, and siu mai that arrive steaming and precisely seasoned. No dim sum carts here—just straightforward execution and the kind of popularity that fills the parking lot most nights.
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Rank 78. Mariscos Jalisco - Boyle Heights
Jalisco-Style
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Time Out #15 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
- Los Angeles Times 2024 · Tacos dorados de camarón · The 101 Best Tacos in Los Angeles
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Rank 79. The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar
Californian
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Rank 80. Bestia
Italian
A warehouse-sized room with copper bar and suspended booths frames the cooking of Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis, whose kitchen moves easily between grilled prawns with serrano pesto, blistered pizzas touched with Sichuan peppercorn and wildflower honey, and truffle-laden pastas. The place hums with the contentment of both diners and staff, a dining room that feels genuinely loved.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Time Out #37 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · Fifty Under $50
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Rank 81. Koi Japanese Cuisine
Japanese
In a Seal Beach strip mall, experienced chefs command a spare sashimi counter where regulars arrive like family. Orange clams and pristine kampachi give way to delicate nigiri—seabass kissed with yuzu kosho, scallop crowned in uni—while tempura-fried zucchini flowers stuffed with scallops bridge the meal like a palate-cleansing interlude. The place trades trend for craft and rapport.
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Rank 82. Mariscos Jalisco
Mexican
A modest storefront in Pomona continuing the Jalisco taco legacy Raul Ortega established on Boyle Heights streets two decades ago. Fried shrimp tacos arrive in a tempura-crisp shell filled with avocado and bright salsa, while lime-spiked ceviche tostadas complete a menu disciplined by clarity of purpose rather than breadth.
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Rank 84. Bavel
Middle Eastern
- Time Out #4 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #16 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 85. Lao Xi Noodle House
Shanxi Noodles
In a modest Arcadia strip mall, Lao Xi strips away pretense with a focused menu of Shanxi noodles: the springy, hand-pulled strands arrive tossed with crisped pork belly and fermented soy, or tangled with lamb, each bowl a study in textural restraint. Pork and cilantro dumplings open the meal. The kitchen knows its lane and works it clean.
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Rank 86. Selva
Colombian-Inspired
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Rank 87. Chiang Rai
Northern Thai
Inside a forgettable storefront lies a colorful, quirky dining room where Northern Thai specialties shine. The khao soi arrives as thin egg noodles topped with raw ribeye, then blanketed in hot curry broth that cooks the beef to silken tenderness—a dish that justifies the detour to Tustin.
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Rank 88. Sushi Nikkei
Nikkei
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Rank 89. Macheen
Mexican
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles Right Now
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #93 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
- Los Angeles Times 2024 · Brisket taco · The 101 Best Tacos in Los Angeles
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Rank 90. The Attic
Refined Southern
A Craftsman bungalow on East Broadway shelters dining rooms appointed with brick fireplaces and floral wallpaper, where Chef Cameron Slaugh's plates marry Southern tradition with restless technique. Fried chicken and gumbo anchor a menu that pivots toward refinement—bubble and squeak, roasted cauliflower with cracked oats—before closing with powdered beignets and strawberry compote.
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Rank 91. Bandito Taqueria
Tijuana-Style
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Rank 97. A&J Restaurant
Dim Sum Chinese
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Rank 98. Dai Ho
Taiwanese
A narrow Taiwanese counter in Temple City that opens at 11:30 and closes hours later, drawing lines of regulars who know the rhythm: scan the wall menu, order quickly, eat faster. The fiery beef noodle soup and sesame dry noodles arrive in minutes, their depth belying the speed of service. You'll be gone in twenty minutes, making room for the next shift of hungry eaters.
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Rank 99. LSXO
Vietnamese
Tucked within Huntington Beach's Bluegold, LSXO trades ocean views for a cooler, louder energy—a speakeasy with real conviction. Pork, shrimp and crab dumplings arrive with a peanut-spiked black vinegar that catches fire; the cháo, a silky broth of crab and white fish, justifies the difficulty of getting a table.
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Rank 100. Ipoh Kopitiam
Malaysian
A Malaysian café that draws lines from open to close, Chef Kenji Tang's succinct menu pivots from the neighborhood's Chinese norm with poached Hainanese chicken served cold alongside three sauces and seasoned rice, layered curry matched with flaky roti canai, and wok-fired char kway teow—each plate evidence of discipline in executing classics without flourish or apology.